There's got to be a cheaper way!!!!

[Anonymous]

I asked this question in another post but got no replies.
I too am balking at paying $45 dollars Canadian for carb boots or intake rubbers for my gs1100. I have heard of people using other material as long as it is heat & fuel resistant. I have heard of radiator hose. I have heard of plumbing hose. Who has used these alternatives & found they work just as well?? What model of rad hose?

Paul

[Anonymous]

Bike Bandit doesn't list a '79, but I'm gonna guess an '80 is darn similar.

http://www.bikebandit.com/partsbandit/showschematic.asp?dept_id=130628

http://www.ronayers.com has the rubbers for $7.85US ea, and the clamps for $1.86

If you want to use regular hose, just make sure it is fuel proof, I don't think just fuel resistant will cut it.

[Anonymous]

carb rubbers

I think you would be disappointed with the performance of the bike if you use rad hose. The stock rubbers are specially cut to ensure continuity of the surface of the inside of the carbs, rubbers, and manifold. If you use rad hose their would be a step in the inner wall when going from the carb to the rad hose and from the rad hose to the manifold. This would cause a lot of turbulance in the intake flow and the bike would probably run crappy at high rpm. I wouldn't want something like that on my bike. If the 45 bills insults your sensibilities and your pocket book, try getting some used ones from someone on the forum who is parting out a bike with the same size carbs. If your old boots are just cracked and leaking you could try some creative patch work with silicone sealant or other such flexible product. Just make sure that there are no gobs of sealant sticking into the intake airflow or you will be getting turbulance again. Also ensure that the sealant has cured well before firing up the engine or the silicone may be sucked into the engine.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Nobody likes to spend more money,but how much is your time worth? It will take less time to buy the parts and do the job right. And you will ride around with more peace of mind. Playing with the manifolds can cause a lot of performance problems.

[argonsagas]

There are times when it is not worth either your time or effort to save money on repairs. This is one.

Blaine got it exactly right when mentioning the turbulence radiator hoses or similar temporary repairs would lead to. They could work well at low speeds, but if you are looking to get peak performance from your engine, what you need is the smoothest possible air flow between your carbs and the engine. Even a small increase in resistance/ turbulence will have negative results.

Add in the long-term loss of performance, and very likely higher gas consumption, (despite the reduced engine performance) and you will see the benefits of the proper parts being used the first time.

[Anonymous]

Re: There's got to be a cheaper way!!!!

I asked this question in another post but got no replies.
I too am balking at paying $45 dollars Canadian for carb boots or intake rubbers for my gs1100. I have heard of people using other material as long as it is heat & fuel resistant. I have heard of radiator hose. I have heard of plumbing hose. Who has used these alternatives & found they work just as well?? What model of rad hose?

Paul

Yeah, RonAyers has them for the 1100E (82/83 anyway, I've got a set from them sitting in my garage) and at the $7 something price Jeckler quoted. If for some reason there turns out to be a problem with shipping to Canada from them let me know and maybe I can help out.

[HiSPL]

I've been using Rad. hose for over two years now and have not had any negative effects from it. Nor have I had to replace them. I go to 10K rpm on a somewhat regular basis and don't have any stuttering or choking. Power rises steadily until redline.

It works fine. The big boys have been using it to mount their Lectrons for years..... Yeah its not computer engineered to smooth out airflow entering the head, but uh, we're also talking about a relatively small motor running what is considered low RPM's so I don't think its that big of a deal. Everythings relative.......I don't know if this would work as well on a Busa. But this ain't a Busa, Y'know........

BTW, I took one of my carb boots to a auto parts place and asked the guy to find a hose with the same or close I.D. and no spring inside...... Took him about 5 minutes to find one...... I think it was 10 bucks. And theres enough material to make two sets of boots.......

I think that if you had access to a bandsaw, that would be the best way to cut it. I did it with a hacksaw...... While mine do work, they're not the prettiest in the world.......

Good luck

[Anonymous]

very cool!! Ya know we all don't have to do things by the book. It's that inovation that separates the men from the boys. I do appreciate all responses but if I can do something for 20% of what the dealer wants or what I can order them for from anyone else w/ the exchange rate on the Canadian dollar, then I'm in.

Thanks all,

Paul